US2612657A - Method and apparatus for making candles - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 7, 1952 P. M. POULSEN 2,612,657

' METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING CANDLES Filed Oct. 25, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 7, 1952 P. M. POULSEN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING CANDLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 25, 1949 -[muraz Oct. 7, 1952 P. M. POULSEN 2,612,657

7 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING CANDLES Filed Oct. 25, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Oct. 7, 1952 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING CANDLES .Poul Mandrup Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denrnark Application October 25, 1949, Serial No. 123,427

In Sweden January 22, 1949 I 7 Claims. (o1. 1s-24) This invention has to do with the making of candles of the kind consisting of a wicksurrounded by a low fusing combustible mass that may e. g. be paraffin or wax'and will in the following be referred to as candle material.

Such candles are nowadays mostly produced by a mold casting process, since this is generally considered the cheapest way of making such candles. To some extent, however, the old immersion process, in which a wick is repeatedly immersed into a molten bath of candle material to form a deposit of desired thickness thereon, is still in use in various modified forms. However, the immersion process as hitherto conducted-is generally more expensive than the mold casting process and is therefore normally only resorted to where it is desired to produce so-called handmade candles, i. e. candles that are to have a particularly decorative or antique appearance.

The main reason for the higher costs of the immersion process is that it has not been found possible to conduct the process in such a manner as to allow for large scale production while at the same time maintaining the ideal conditions for the formation of the candles. The fact is that there are a great number of factors that are essential to the quality of candles produced by immersion. In the first place, when a good and uniform product is desired, care shouldbe taken that all of-the candles under production are uniformly cooled between-each two successive immersions to a temperature that is neither too high nor too low, because if the temperature is too high, the layer deposited in the next immersion step will be too thin to warrant an economic production, while, on the other hand, if the temperature is too low, the layers deposited in successive immersion steps will not melt together satisfactorilyso that small cavities, scale formation or the like irregularities may result. Secondly, the candles are very sensitive during the production to any influence re-.

workpieces between the immersions.- The fact is "that the candlesnear the centre of the bundle will have a tendency to be cooled more slowly than the candles near the periphery of thebundle, and this tendency cannot very well be counteracted by ventilation, since this would result in 2 unfavourable currents of air as above explained, but even if this were feasible, the different conditions of heat radiation from the inner and outer candles respectively would result in similardifferences in temperature, and seeing now that the inner candles must be cooled down sufficiently, it follows that the outer candles will be cooled down to a too low temperature so that the layer next deposited will not adhere properly. Besides, the finished candles will not be of uniform thickness, since in each immersion step a thicker layer will be deposited on the cuter than on the inner candles.

One object of the invention is to devise a method and apparatus whereby candles of a good quality can be produced by immersion at competitive prices as compared with the mold casting process. a

Another object of the invention is to make possible the large scale production of so-called hand-made or antique candles of high quality.

A further objectof the invention is to provide a simple and reliable machine in which candles may be produced in large batches with a minimum of manual labor and without the necessity of transferring the candles to other machines for-further treatment or subjecting the candles to any kind of individual treatment or post treatment.

will appear from the following, the production of candles by immersion in large bundles is made possible with good and uniform results according to one feature of the invention byimmersing said bundles into a cooling liquid between successive immersions into the bath of candle material, and since the candles will generally have a tendency to float on the cooling liquid, that may be water, and thereby to interfere with one another, it is further suggested according to the invention to subdivide the space in which the cooling liquid is active into a number of individual cells, one for each of the wicks in the bundle. I

Other features aand objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of some ways of carrying out the invention, reference being now had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of one form of a machine constructed to carry out the principles of the invention,

Fig. 2 a top view of the-machine with-certain parts removed or broken away,

which"'=the block '9' is" lowered.

Fig. 3 an end view of the machine,

Fig. 4 on a larger scale a fragmentary vertical section through a cooling vessel forming part of the machine,

Fig. 5 a corresponding top view,

Fig. 6 a fragmentary vertical cross section through a wick holder or wick carrier with clamping means} for the wicks, I

Fig. 7"afra'gm'entary vertical longitudinal section through the same parts,

Fig. 8 a top view of a wick detaining device preparatory to being slid intoits:operative positep f-rame t on which areim'ounted:fourubearings '4- "for two 1 shafts .5 'a'nd -t carrying a inumbe'r of prdkets I -serving to gui'de-fourchains Bficarryg a block S at-their ends 'dependingl'b'etweenithe sts Land-having thelr respective :o'th'er ends tabbed to ac'oun t'erweig ht I i]. 'The'fshaft fi further carries a sprocket H "which iby ?a .chain carrying-a hand crank lt an'd'a pointer-1'6 rotatflie block QserVesas'a-Wick holder or wick carn er and 'ccnsists' f 'a 'frame TBhaVirig-a bottom I 9 composed of a wooden sheet a'n'da metallic ally parallel-outer tubes ifl, ineach-'of which an inner tube 2! is slidably mounted. Each outer -therethrdughfin'd eac'h' inner tube .has a similar 7 serisff riiveiecai -h' oles' z'3. one :end of ithe arranged, and' between the f latterjand ea'ch 'of the inner-aubesm "there is inte'rpiused"a helical-spring 25. "The :bar Hmay be-urged towards=the frame l'iibyim'eans of screws 26, and thereby. each of the inner tubes 'is elastif'cally "displaced relative -to its "associated *outer jtube. *In this "manner, the holes of the inner tubes' may' be' brought in line with the holes of the I 'foutr tubes, oralternatively in-a displaced positionrelati've'to "the latter. 'l it'their ends remote f'fromthe' bar '24 each of the inner tubesmaybe *i'nfiuenced'byaiming tending to move the inner tifloesitc'ithe position whicihi-the" holes thereof fare. in line with those 'of the'outer'tubesfand this ,movement of the inner tubesmayfbe effected against stop fmeans serving 'to' locate the inner offsthe inner-:andmuter tubes.

Under'the bottom "l9,-a rguide tube 12'! is mounted in line with each of the holesof the o'uter tubes. :Attheirrloweriends, theguide-xtubes are cut off invsuch rarmanner "that a lip :28 is;

'35 ing ipoint.

'4 formed projecting downwardly from the mouth of each guide tube.

When the machine is to be taken into use, a continuous wick thread is pulled through each 5 pair of holes 22 and 23 and the guide tube 21 thereunder by means of a suitable tool. These wick threads may e. g. be taken off from individualffeedin'g rollers .iniboxes 66, and are passed 'throu'ghin'dividual holesof aguidingmember 29 arranged between the posts 2. The wick threads are pulled through in a length corresponding to gthe desired leng-th of the candles, and when this has been done, one batch of candles after another may be produced without a fresh threading operl'5 ation until the fulllength of the wick threads on thefeedingarollers has been consumed. In each operating cycle,the wick threads are locked in the desired position by clamping the bar 24 towards the frame l9 so as to cause a displacement of the inner tubes 2! relative to the outer :tubesi-Z 0 wherebywthe wick "threads: are clamped the i holesl'of the slatter and thereafter depend froimthe wick carrier readyfor immersion.

1A carria'g'et I .runsvon azball track-3'0associated 25 with .ithenbottomrframe and-carries:a paraffin immersion vessel 32 'and a water-filledpooling vessel 33. Each: of 1 these vessels has 1 a :circumferential shape substantially corresponding to -that of thewickvcarrier 9. The'paraflin immer- BO *si'on "vessel '32 zis preferably heat insulatedeand provided at its bottom with an electric -heating element 34 control'led byea thermostat so 'as' to keeptthe paraffin in the 'Vessel at a substantially tconstant-temperature: somewhat ;a-bove.-.the-': melt- The paraifinrmay be'vsuppliedtorthe s-immersion wesselafrom ta'rprefera-bly electrically .Lheated paraffinmelting"vesselgnot shown.

Inithe coolingvessehthere is arranged asystem softcloselyrpackedvertical tiibess3 'I: form'ingfindiv '40- :viidual. cells "to 'iguideiltherespective l candle ':work pieces :during :the1-fl-imniersion :into the :cooling 'vessel. Z'Ihe .tubesrii I- extend fromra levelislightly bIOW-ithB edge of .the :coolingwessel to='a .'-leve'l;at .5 some distancexabove the bottom thereof and are :rsupported i on the :latter :by. means: of T 'a downwardly extending'lip: 61'. A rubbenhose for the :supply of .fresh': cooling water-is connected to the wcooling 'vesselz -at' theibottom thereof. The 10001- -:.ing vessel is provided with an 'overflow 38' and. is

--:further providedrat its bottom "with -a-n outlet waive-=39, said-overflow -til andsaidoutlet valve 39 "bothcommunicating with-a drain pipe 4 0 opening above a. drain-trough 4 l The'carriage 3| is adapted-to be reciprocated 'by mea-ns'of a crank-4l2 and a connection rod- 43 driven. .through a worm-gear 58- by means of an electric motor 45 :or-by hand. Theexcentricity of thecrank is so selected-that each half revolution of :the" crank alternately brings the -:immer- -.sion vessel32 -and the cooling vessel--33 in position verticallybelow the wick carrier 9. Well known :means may be provided forautomatically locking the .fcrank in these extreme positions and for :releasing it preparatory to starting its next move- 5 ment.

lhe operation of the parts so far described is as follows: 7

' When the wicks .ihave been pulled through the wick carrier 9iin=the:desiredlength, :as will be further described below, .-the wick carrier-is loweredby turning the hand crank 15- so;--as toimmersethe wicks intothe immersion vessel which prior toethis operation hasbeen broughtintorpo- .-siti0n between the posts 2. =The immersion may g preferably be; performed .-to..a depth; suchath at paraflin is deposited on the wicks up to the mid- ;dle of the'lips 28 so that the wicks are caused to adhere to the lips which has a stabilizing effect against lateral swinging of the candle workpieces that have'been formed by the described immersion and are now to be increased in thickness by subsequent immersions so as to finally develop into the finished candles.

' The described operation may be repeated some times While the deposit on the wicks is still relati'vely thin, but when the deposit has assumed a certain thickness, it becomes essential for the I this is done as follows:

When after an immersion'of the candle work- ;pieces into the immersion vessel, the wick carrier 9 has been lifted by turning the hand crank 15 so that the vessels may pass freely under the candle workpieces, the carriage 3! is moved by -means of the crank 42 and the connection rod 43 to a positionin which the cooling vessel is situated vertically below the wick carrier. The latter is now again lowered by turning the hand crank M'so as to immerse the candle workpieces into the cooling vessel, whereby the candle workpieces are uniformly cooled. The individual cells formed by the vertical tubes 31 prevent the candle workpieces from interfering with one another and from escaping laterally owing to their light weight relative to the water in the cooling vessel. When the candle workpieces have been cooled, the wick carrier is again lifted, and the carriage 3| is moved so as to bring the immersion vessel into active position below the wick carrier whereupon the latter is again lowered to immerse the candle workpieces into the parafi'in so that a further layer of paraffin will be deposited on the candle workpieces. The described cycle is repeated a number of times, until the candles have assumed the desired circumferential shape.

It has been found that by the operations above described the candles will over the greate part of their length assume a slightly tapering shape similar to that of the so-called antique candles. Moreover, by suitably conducting the immersion process, the candles may automatically be provided with a more brusquely tapering and somewhat rounded tip at their upper ends. This is done simply by immersing the candle workpieces to successively increasing depths in a succession of immersing operations. For instance, after one or a few preliminary layers have been deposited on the wicks, the latter may be immersed to such a depth that the paraffin extends only to some two centimeters from the point at which the final tip of the candle is to be formed. Then, in the next immersion, the candle workpieces may be lowered 1 to 2 millimetres further and so forth, whereby the desired rounded tip is formed in the course of say 18 to 20 immersions into the paraifin vessel with cooling steps in between. v

At their bottom ends, the candles will assume a rounded shape which is usually not desirable. Accordingly, it is proposed, according to the invention, to flatten the lower ends of the candles simply by melting material therefrom. This may be done by lowering the candles against a tray 69, that normally rests on rails 5'! outside the actric heating element at its bottom, but 'preferably it contains a shallow bath of candle material kept at a temperature substantially above'the melting point by means of an electric hatingelement. Such a bath has no tendency-to-deflect the depending candles from their vertical position, and it has been found that provided the temperature of the bath is high enough so that the melting of the immersed rounded ends of the candles proceeds with sufiicient speed, the ends of the candles will assume a shape substantially as if out off by means of a knife at the surface level of the melting bath. 7

During the immersion process, it is advantageous to effect a regulation of the liquid level in the cooling vessel as the immersion processproceeds and the candles assume a constantly larger volume so as to displace a constantly greater quantity'of water. True, the cooling vessel is provided with an overflow, but if the excessive water is permitted to overflow this way, it'is found that the overflowing water comes substantially only from the outer tubes 31, while there will practically not be any shift of water in the inner tubes 31 so that a temperature difference will come up between the cooling water in the inner and outer tubes which again results in a non-uniform cooling of the candles. It is therefore advantageous to extract water through the valve 39 gradually asthe volume of the candles increases, and this of course need not be done continuously, but e. g. one or a few times in the course of the Whole cycleof operations. The overflow then only serves as a security against flooding over the outer edge of the cooling vessel. It has been found preferable to shift the whole of the cooling water in the cooling vessel before the last cooling operation of a cycle and after the lower ends of the candles have been flattened as described so that a profound cooling of the finished candles is performed'before they leave the machine, and the cooling water may then be-left over for the next cycle of operations. Alternatively, the shift of cooling water may be effected between successive cycles. I

In each cycle, the temperature of the cooling water in the cooling vessel will gradually increase, but this has been found to be rather an advantage than a disadvantage since the last layers are deposited'more perfectly if the-preceding cooling is not too pro-found; we

As examples ofthe candle material wax and paraffin have been mentioned in the beforegoing. These materials have been specifically referred to because they are particularly suitable for use in the process according to the inventiononac- 7 count of their plastic consistency when solidified. 'This is of importance because when immersing a tion of the material.

Wick into a melting bath, the materialwill not i weight so as to assume the desired rectilinear form. If, on the other hand, a material is used, which solidifies in a stiff consistency, the candle workpiece will not be straightened in the manner described, and the final candles may therefore assume an irregular shape." Stearin as'such is therefore not less suitable for the production of candles by the method here considered.

On the other hand, when using such plastic cremains perfectly in "shape until molten. ..-t-similar-..effect.-could of course not be obtained just 7 materials 3.53%3 and -;pa-raflin. .zcare .ishouldi f secures hectak h to.ausertheseimatcrialsina T3911 .s stencmsuchzthatrthezfinishedcandl s w l notb :toowsoftrsince ..;o.therwise they ma um a ncurvedvonwarped appearan if sub e ed t .trrelati velyzhieh' temperatureduring storage or:in ".the-zplace @where :theyare used. In this respect :stearin :is superior :since: itremains entirely-stiff until it :is molten -.-Now, in order-the {combine the ;advanta e.s of :arrelatively plastic and -.a .relative stiff material ".inzsuch'casestw here; difficulties might be encountered in finding a suitablecompromisebetween a-the -.desired plasticity during production 7 and the idesired. stiffness of the ;finished-.candles, it. is pro- ;posci according :to :one. feature of the in-ven- -'-;tion,':.- t, o use .a .melting bath .of a relatively soft amass. such asparafiin in -a, first; succession of. immersion-ssteps andsa meltinghath of, a.-relative.ly s zshi-ftrmass; such. .as stearinin. a subsequent succession {of immersion .steps.

;In thisconnectionzit-is .to be remembered that gpiasticity :is .-.on l-y .required during the TfiISt imimersiontsteps. Once.z-a -fewrlayers have been deypositedea-nd the candle workpieces thus formed .-.have.heen. a1lowed to be straightened out under *ithe-influencepf theirowngravity, it ,is entirely r; possiblerwithout any danger .of warping to make (the.- subsequent layers-ofla stiffer material sothat -theifinal pro.duct:thanks*to-the outer stiff layers A -:by mixing thetwo-materialsin the melting bath, c.-though. :s-uch .mixing may. of course be resorted zitorfonthepurposeof controllingthe plasticity.

Itt-is observed that .the immersion cycle 7 may --alsoi nolude.one,-or.more immersions into well- .drnownichemicals-to produce a .fancy surface.

. .'lZ-'his-..may be donewithoutremoving the candles sfa'om-rthe machine-simply by; sliding, a :vessel, constainingtherchemicahin-under the wick carrier zand: then lowering the latter.

workingzone of the. machine. .The framed! carriesa rwick detaining device consisting of a TSYStQm'Of mutually parallel outer tubes Ail-each :ha-ying an'inner tube 50 slidably mounted therein 'i-Each outer tube. is provided along one side .athereof withva number; of. notches 5| ,and each :inner tubeais provided; along each corresponding tiside withca corresponding-series of-notches 52.

'i'Theouter-tubes .49 .arefixed to.a bar 53, and at -:,-a'.small distance from the latter, there is arranged .i another bar that may be urged towards the '.:bar.53, a.-helical spring 55 being interposed between thebar, 54-and each of the inner tubes 50. Byurgingthebar 54towards the bar 53, the in-nerztubes canbe displacedfrom a position in rwliiontheirgnotches arein. line with those of the :outeratubes .toaanother position in which they are offset.; relative. to the latter. Perferably, the rinnertuheszahdtheou r-tubesma be provided 8 .-.=simi1a. 1y1-asdescribed::withcreierehce t .thetubes 2.0 and .21.. with spring and st m an :63 an B.4.-.-resnect1vely forhormallv keepin th ube ia'nd' ifl i zanosition re atire t one an thensiic 5 thattheirhotches a e in line with on anothe When thef amefl has bee w ngto th -hori- .;zonta1- o i h. n w chit e is ers w th th frame 48, the whole of the wick detaining device may be slidasa unit from the frame 41 into the ;10 :frame 48. -.Durin g thi s slidingmovement the individual pairsoftubesw and 50 are movediongiatudinall-y in-between-the; rows of candles depend- 'ingfrom-the wick carrier -9,:-and the latter ,will previously to this operation have beensetin a vertical position such thatthepairof tubes of the wick detaining d ice a e l ve wit thewick e dat the ps o the ca dle e era:b. y. 'rthe eis providedat the nd .of t e fr me 8 :r

-;mote ;from the frame .41 s id l .barfiih vi s .20 h les. for the encasement of th pairs of t b .49 and 5D,;so thatthe latter-areherebysupported and caused to assumeapredetermined position relative to a the candles depending from the wick carrier, viz. a position such thateach wick is situated immediately outside one of the notches of the pairs of tubes, the notches of the-outer and inner tubesbeing flushat thisstage.

Now the wick detaining device is laterallydisplaced as aunit-whereby a wick enters intoeach of the notches 5 I. Thereafter the bar 54 is urged towards thebar -5;3,so that :the inner tubes are displaced relative to the outer tubesand cause the wicks to be gripped and clamped in the rn tch siihthe p r of u s The candlesware-now ready to be cutqfi. fl'om the continuous wickzthrea ds but prior tothis, anew lengthof wick is to be'pulled out. Also, suitable must of-course 'be provided for collecting 'the candles when-cutoff. Such means may;con- 40 sist of'a carriage or slide .50 adapted to be-;run in under'the wickcarrieron the .guide;r ails;51 and carrying a tray 58 with two perforated-trays 'or-sheets '59 and'BO forming cells for;rec eiving theindividual candles. If such a carriage and associated tray is used,- it should ofv courseberrun into position'before the wick carrier islowered to the position in which the wick detaining device is to be set in operation, or'in other Words, the candles will already be seatedinythe cells 5 ofthe tray'58, when the wick 'detainingdevice is brought into action asabove indicated.

' When the wicks have been clampedin the wick detaining 'device,*the bar 24- is releasedtso that the inner tubes 2| are permitted tomove to a position in which their holes'are in'linewwith those of the outertubes 20. "Thereafter, the wick carrier "'9 is'movedupwards, whereby,a new length ofwick is pulled out through-the wick w clamping device and the tubes 27. When the de- W sired length of wick has been pulled out, the bar 24 is tightened again, so that the Wick threads are clamped in the wick clamping device in the new position. Thereafter the candles already producedare cutoff by passing a',kni f e I6 slidably mounted under the wick carrier through the whole bundle of wicks. clamped inthe wick detaining device. the .fi ishedcahdlesm y. be iolled away von .thecarthee 5.6 to be packed. and aiterthe wic h v een..rdeasedimmthe.wick .d tain e. de Y i by l in the arv fi mthewic detaini device may. again as a unit be slid into the frame A? 7 whe eupo the .latte :may be sw n tois 7s re t c hpos tion- Jlhe machihei .then..-ieadyeror the commencement of a fresh operation cycle to produce another batch of candles.

I claim:

l. A machine for the making of candles comprising a wick holder having means for the at tachment of a large number of continuous wick threads in positions to depend freely from said wick holder in mutually spacedrelationship and in a length substantially corresponding to the deholder up and down relative to said vessels to.

immerse and withdraw said wicks into and from the respective liquids therein, a horizontally disposed rectangular first frame open at one end and surrounding the working zone of the machine as defined by the ascending and descending movement of said wick holder, a second frame likewise open at one end and mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis between a substantially vertical position and a substantially horizontal position in which the open end thereof registers with the open end of said first frame,

a wick anchoring device including a plurality of mutually parallel elongated wick engaging members constructed to engage a row of wicks from one side and having means associated therewith for clamping the wicks thus engaged, said wick anchoring device being normally seated in said second frame and being longitudinally slidable therefrom, in the substantially horizontal position thereof, into said first frame to bring said wick engaging members in position between rows of wicks depending from said wick holder and being thereupon transversely slidable to engage such rows of wicks from the side whereby when the wicks have been thus engaged and then clamped, the wick holder upon loosening of the wick threads relative thereto may be moved upwards to pull out fresh lengths of wick thread.

2. A machine as in claim 1, in which a transversely slidable supporting bar is provided at the closed end of said first frame and having holes for receiving and supporting the ends of said wick engaging members.

3. A process for the production of candles comprising the steps of immersing a bundle of candle workpieces freely depending in mutually spaced relationship from a common holder alternately into a bath oflow melting combustible material and into individual cells of a liquid cooler a sufficient number of times to form on said candle workpieces a deposit of combustible material of desired thickness to form the finished candles, and then immersing the ends of said finished candles into a shallow bath at a temperature substantially above the melting point of the candle material so as to flatten said ends by a melt ing operation.

4. A machine for making candles comprising a wick holder having means for the attachment of a large number of continuous wick threads in positions to depend freely from said wick holder in mutually spaced relationship and in a length substantially corresponding to the desired length of a candle, a first upwardly open vessel for receiving a batch of candle material, a second upwardly open vessel for receiving a cooling liquid, a plurality of closely packed vertical tubes open at both ends provided in said second vessel in a position to horizontally sub divide the active area-of saidsecond vessel into,

a number of individual cells in a pattern corresponding to that of said depending wicks, means for horizontally displacing said vessels and said holder relative to one another to bring said holder in position above one or the other of said-vessels, and means for vertically moving. said holder and said vessels relatively to .one

another to immerse said wicks into said vessels.

5. A machine for making candles comprising a wick'holder havingmeans for the attachment of a large number of continuous wick threads in positions to depend freely from said wick holder in mutually spaced relationship and in a length substantially corresponding to the desired length I of a candle, first upwardly open vessel for re-; ceiving a batch of a candle material, a'-second;

upwardly open vessel for receiving a cooling liquid, means in said second vessel for horizontally subdividing the, active area thereof into a number of individual cells being open at both ends and extending over part of the depth only of said second vessel, said individual cells forming a pattern corresponding to that of said depending wicks, means for horizontally displacing said vessels and said holder relative to one another to bring said holder in position above one or the other of said vessels, means for vertically moving said holder and said vessels relatively to one another to immerse said wicks into said vessels, and means for extracting cooling liquid from said second vessel at a level below said individual cells.

6. A machine for making candles comprising a wick holder for the attachment of a large number of continuous wick threads in positions to depend freely from said wick holder in mutually spaced relationship and in a length substantially corresponding to the desired length of a candle, a guide tube for each wick thread mounted on the underside of said wick holder, a wick stabilizing member depending from the mouth of each of said guide tubes in a position such that the respective wick thread may adhere thereto after the first immersion, a first upwardly open vessel for receiving a batch of candle material, a second upwardly open vessel for receiving a .cooling liquid, means in said second vessel for horizontally subdividing the active area thereof into a number of individual cells in a pattern corresponding to that of said depending Wicks, means for horizontally displacing said vessels and said holder relative to one another to bring said holder in position above one or the other of said vessels, and means for vertically moving said holder and said vessels relatively to one another to immerse said wicks into said vessels.

7. A machine for making candles comprising a wick holder for the attachment of a large number of continuous wick threads in positions to depend freely from said wick holder in mutually spaced relationship and in a length substantially corresponding to the desired length of a candle, a guide tube for eachwick thread mounted on the underside of said wick holder, a wick stabilizing member depending from the mouth of each of said guide tubesin a position such that the respective wick threads may adhere thereto after the first immersion, ,a plurality of wick engaging members forming part of said wick holder. and each comprising an outer tube having a series of lateral notches, and an inner tube slidably mounted in said outer tube and 11 v hav'ififgasiinilai series or lateral nopchesvnieans being provided for imultaneo sly isplacing: 2311 of said inner tubes relative to their 'resbeotive outer tubes to selectively bring the not'che's' of sa'i'dflinner tubes in line with thenotche's of said 5 outer tubes to permit entrance of the" wick threads into such alignednotches, orinto a dis-' placed position to clamp the wicks thus enue 're'd, a first upwardly open vessel for receiving abatch' of candle material; a second' upwardly open vessel 10 foif'receiving' a cooling liquid; means in said sec on'd' vessel for horizontally subdividing the active area-thereof into a number of individual cells" in a palttern coflesponding'jo that; of said de-" pending wicks, means for horizontally displacing 15 2,007,773

said ve'ssels and said holder relative to one another tobring said holder in position above one" or the other of said vessels} and means for' ve'r 12 tidally moving 'said holder and i said vessels rela tively to one another'to immerse said-wicks intol said vessels. 7

' POUL MAN-DRUP POULSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES -PATEN TS

Images